Why You Should Nominate Mary Ruwart

If the Heartland’s 5-state straw poll
is any indication, the LP has sadly lost its way and forgotten the
core values that brought it into existence nearly two generations ago
now. Some few of us still remember the tears that welled in our eyes
when we came together to work for the vision that is America. Like
no other nomination in our history this one matters and this is why.

The original idea was freedom for all
of us, man and woman, every race, every kind and part of that
cantankerous collation of living, beating spirits who comprise
humanity. We felt that in those opening days, saw ourselves as new
revolutionaries fighting a new battle for a war never truly won. It
was all about the individual; it was never about playing into the
frame of corporate glitz that is strangling America today. Now, at a
time when the make up of those seeking our nomination clearly
indicates that American politics faces a realignment of political
parties, we need to choose for principle. This is the time for which
we have been waited so long. Everything tells us so.

No one anticipated that a cantankerous
family doctor from Texas, his words ignored for so long, would become
an icon. But it happened. It happened because America is ready to
hear the truth about freedom from the Party that made freedom its
unifying goal. Dr. Paul gave Americans the thing for which they most
hunger, hope and the promise of a renewed freedom. That ground swell
awakened hundreds of thousands of Americans to the reasons America
lost its way. War, corporate greed, rapacious government, the
strangling of hope from all sides. Some among us decided that
efficiency was a greater virtue than individual rights. Some of us
came with only one issue clutched to our heart, the other issues we
shrugged off as irrelevant. Too often we ignored the always present
truth that until all are free no one is.

In all of these ways we went a long way
down the path to losing everything that really matters. Now, we can
redeem all the errors. This is the moment when we rediscover freedom
for ourselves and help all Americans find it for the first time. We
need the right candidate, and when you finish reading this the right
candidate will be obvious.

To be a Libertarian is to understand
that the people must govern themselves. To be a Libertarian is to
know, down to your innermost being, that you own yourself. When you
realize that you stand up a little straighter, feel the ease of
tension across your back.

We have settled for words, rhetoric,
that while well honed, was empty of the truth found only in action.
It is actions, not words, that matter. True liberty is what we live.
Ron Paul's message resonated because his actions, a full measure,
speak his truth. That is the message for which Americans hunger;
Not words but a life-time of proven truth.

We need a candidate we can trust, who
understands us because they have withstood the terrible temptations
of power. We need a candidate with honor we can take to the bank,
not just another practiced salesman with eyes on the potential for
publicity this nomination could bring. Most of all, we need a
candidate who understands what it means to be a Libertarian.

And because this is a realigning
campaign we need a candidate who can do the job if elected. If we
ever had the opportunity to smash the two party system this is the
moment. To grasp that opportunity we need a candidate who has been a
consistent Libertarian and who can bring into their campaign people
from both Right and Left. By so doing we could, finally, elect a
Libertarian president. That is not an opportunity to be wasted.

That said, these are the candidates
who offered themselves.

Wayne Allen Root, who received 22 votes
is a polished speaker. He has practiced speaking the words of
freedom. But what does his life say to us when examined? His
professional association is with the gambling industry and he intends
to recruit on-line gamblers who are angry with the government for
Internet restrictions on their favorite pastime. Root has been a LP
member for only a short time and has no record of activity with his
state party. Root’s presidential run is his first LP campaign
ever.

Until late February, Root told
delegates that we needed to be in Iraq, but has recently changed his
tune. Root uses his initials (WAR) proudly all over his web site.
Root has been getting prime radio spots and some TV exposure because
of his reputation in the gambling industry. Root might play well in
Nevada, his home state, but how is the LP going to play to the public
with a gambler at the top of our ticket? For years we’ve fought
the image of gun-toting pot heads who advocate prostitution. The
kind of media coverage we’re going to get with Root may brand us
for decades. It will speak a powerful negative to our allies in the
anti-war and peace movements.

The candidate is not words. The
candidate is the message Americans will hear.

Next in line was Bob Barr, who has not
formally announced his candidacy, but is expected to do so shortly.
A former Republican congressman, Barr’s reputation as a drug
warrior, Patriot Act supporter, and homophile have all been
well-documented. Barr converted to the LP a couple years ago and
currently serves on the LNC.

Barr probably has the most name
recognition of any candidate, except Mike Gravel. He also has the
most checkered past. Barr is actively hated by the gay community for
his authorship of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies the
federal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. The LP will
alienate the gay community, one of the LP’s strongest support
bases, with Barr.

But that’s just the beginning. Barr
is also the author of the legislation, which has effectively ended
the possibility of medical marijuana in DC. The MPP recently paid the
newly-reformed Barr big bucks to unsuccessfully lobby against his own
legislation. Barr is likely to alienate yet another of the LP’s
staunchest allies, those who want to end drug prohibition.

Barr now regrets his support for the
Patriot Act, as do many others. I realize that he says he has had a
change of heart and I am thrilled to have Bob in our party. However,
we all must live with the consequences of our actions. Bob voted for
the most egregious piece of legislation to pass through Congress in
our lifetimes without even seeing it. He has been a typical
Republican for many years, and only flip-flopped to the LP recently
when the Republicans no longer had any use for him. His candidacy
only serves to divide this party.

This background gives the media carte
blanche to blacken the LP’s name. I can just see the headlines now:
“Drug Warrior Receives LP Presidential Nomination.” “Patriot
Act Supporter Nominated by Libertarians.” “Author of Marriage
Defense Act to head the Libertarian ticket.”

Since Barr got 19 votes, when not even
present, he could possibly, according to the straw poll, be the LP’s
leading contender. The LP should welcome former evil-doers with open
arms once they sincerely reject their past. Should they become the
LP’s standard-bearer, when that same past will alienate large
segments of the LP? Isn’t that a steep price to pay a little more
media exposure, and potentially damaging exposure at that? We have
fallen for the promises of big money and huge media attention before,
and what did it get us? Nothing! It is time we stop believing in
empty promises and select the best Libertarian nominee we can. We
should have a messenger at the top of the ticket that we can be proud
of, not one that we will have to make excuses for during the whole
campaign!

Does Barr send a message that says NO
to the concentration of power in Washington DC? Ask yourself and be
honest.

Placing third was former Democrat
Gravel, party member for all of 7 days. Gravel supports universal
health care, a subject which he carefully avoided during the debate.
As stated in the debate, he wants to replace the income tax with the
Fair Tax (which appears to be about the only thing he and Bob Barr
agree upon), rather than do away with it altogether. Two-time LP
candidate Harry Browne used “eliminate the income tax and replace
it with nothing” as his signature issue. Republican candidate and
former LP nominee Ron Paul garnered a lot of support pledging to do
the same thing. Will Libertarians back off from their “taxation is
theft” stand in the hopes that Gravel’s, or Barr’s, name
recognition will garner them a few new votes?

And what about Gravel’s signature
issue, total democratic referendum, where every piece of legislation
is passed not by Congress, but by direct vote of the people? The
Constitution is out the window if a slick ad campaign can convince a
majority of the voters to do so, an easy sell in the days of public
education. Ron Paul has demonstrated that a large segment of our
population is set on fire by the Constitution, but it looks like the
LP is ready to throw the Constitution to the flames in the hopes for
a bit of media.

Mike Gravel has done heroic things for
America – but he has not even begun to understand freedom.

Running fourth in a field of over a
dozen candidates is Dr. Mary J. Ruwart, long-term libertarian author
and activist. Ruwart, a cancer survivor, has claimed for years that
she would rather write than campaign. She has lived freedom, showing
her courage in quiet ways that last, speaking loudly to those who
know her. Eloquent and yet able to touch her audience, she is the
author of Healing Our World, Short
Answers to the Tough Questions, and an Advocates
for Self-Government web-column. Through a career decades long she,
like Ron Paul, has stayed on message in her own life as well as in
what she says.

No other candidate has campaign books
while Ruwart has a comprehensive libertarian primer and a short
version for our public school graduates. Her life proves that what
matters to her is freedom. She is one of the few who have extended
the reach of the freedom message to the Left, and there she also has
a following.

Ruwart decided to run not because one
person asked her but because many veteran LPers asked saying they
desperately needed an experienced, principled candidate. Ruwart, a
veteran of close to a dozen state and local races, garnered one of
the first major news endorsements (The Detroit News for State Board
of Ed).

You may well be one of the many she has
brought to the LP.

Ruwart brings the people together.
She sees every person is a potential libertarian because everyone
benefits from liberty and her fervor is tangible. She not only
explains Libertarianism, she has lived it. When someone sits down
with her to listen they understand our message from both heart and
mind. They learn the same things by watching her live her own life.
Man, woman and child, they get the message.

Mary is what we need. We must stop
acting out of desperation. We must never fear that Americans cannot
understand that vital, inner need to be free. The Ron Paul
Revolution has proven the opposite to be true. Self doubt has made
us weak just when we most need to be strong.

Go to Denver and nominate Mary Ruwart
as your candidate for president. Give Americans the opportunity to
see what freedom means when someone has lived it all of their life,
in every way. If you really believe in freedom then believe in Mary.

I commend Ms. Pillsbury-Foster on an article which makes the most sense, on what the most important priorities that LP delegates should heed in nominating the presidential candidate.I have made the comment, regarding Bob Barr, what will he say when the war on drugs is the question, or gays, or the Patriot Act. Well, we now have the answer, as he was asked these types of questions on Hannity and Colmes. I found his answers lacking, with the comment that **QQ**Federalism**QQ** is what should keep such laws from happening on the federal level. Though I agree that they shouldn**Q**t be federal laws, but Barr says he would prohibit drugs (for example) at the state level. Well. Barr did the best he could, without appearing to be a flip-flopper, but I find this type of answer less than acceptable.

No, the LP presidential nominee is not going to be the next president. No, the LP nominee is not going to get millions of votes. Yes, Barr is likely to get more **QQ**ink**QQ** than Mary Ruwart (though a Ruwart campaign will get a decent amount, if **QQ**we**QQ** promote it well), but what do we want the **QQ**ink**QQ** to say? Frankly, I would rather forego the few extra votes (maybe even a few hundred thousand extra votes) and get the right message out there. Mary Ruwart gives the LP the best chance at getting that **QQ**Best**QQ** message out. I think that that **QQ**best message**QQ** seed has the best chance of bearing the most abundant fruit. Trees take time to grow and bear fruit, but rotten fruit is not worth the time nurturing, or waiting for.